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Who is running our Middle East foreign policy?

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Written by Albert Doyle Albert Doyle
Published: 11 August 2002 11 August 2002
Mr. Secretary,

It's one thing for an ordinary citizen to shoot his mouth off on the Middle East but when the Secretary of Defense of the United States starts popping off that's serious! I'm referring to Donald Rumsfeld's comments about the Israeli "settlements" the other day in what he called the "so-called occupied territories". Those comments were in conflict with U.S. policy as stated repeatedly, not to mention international law as generally understood and United Nations declarations etc. His thesis seems to be that Israel won those territories fair and square in a war so they are entitled to keep them. He ignores the implications of that kind of thinking. It would justify the Nazi conquest of many parts of Europe, particularly those in which they had some modest claim to hegemony such as the Czech Sudetenland, but maybe France, Poland, etc. too. I know. "That's different." It's just kind of hard to explain to us dummies.

Who is running our Middle East foreign policy? You don't have to answer. I know. It's Ariel Sharon - but at least you should be the spokeman Mr. Secretary of State!

Well I suppose you fellows (Don, Dubyuh, etc.) will have a good laugh over all this. Trouble is, it isn't funny.

Albert Doyle, [American, veteran, Bush voter (to my regret - I'd now go for Nader)]
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